■ Rowing
`Lay Down Sally’ struggling
Controversial Australian rower Sally Robbins will have one last chance to gain selection for the Beijing Olympics when trials continue in Sydney today. Robbins was dubbed “Lay Down Sally” when she stopped rowing toward the end of the women’s eights final in Athens four years ago, slumping into the lap of the rower behind her. She is now trying to qualify for Beijing but her results have not been impressive. Without a win over the weekend, Robbins’s chances of selection appear doomed. Her absence would not cause too many tears to be shed among her teammates according to Australian media reports. “All the rowers on the team know and think [Robbins] needs to have a fair go but there are benefits with her missing selection,” one rower said.
■ Soccer
Chelsea duo get all clear
Malaysia said yesterday that it would lift a travel ban on Israelis to allow Chelsea coach Avram Grant and midfielder Tal Ben Haim to visit in July as part of a mini-Asian tour. Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said that “although we don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel or direct trade with the country, we don’t have objections over their visit. They are a sports team with two Israeli members. We don’t see it as something wrong,” he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. Chelsea are expected to play a Malaysian squad on July 29.
■ Swimming
Basketball training pays off
Austrian swimmer Markus Rogan has revealed his secret for breaking world records — going on holiday and training like a basketball player. Rogan said he smashed the world 200m backstroke mark at the world short-course championships on Sunday after a two-week break in Austria with his girlfriend and training sessions with a basketball player. “The way I train in swimming is touch the wall, feel it and go,” he told reporters. “In basketball, you jump up for a rebound, so we did that a lot. I didn’t believe it made any sense, but my best friend is a basketball player not a swimmer, and my coach wasn’t there.” Rogan clocked one minute 47.84 seconds to beat the 1:49.05 set by Ryan Lochte of the US in Shanghai in 2006. “I’ve no scientific proof it’s good training for swimming but it seems to work for me,” the 26-year-old said.
■ Athletics
Greene named in report
US federal investigators have named former Olympic 100m champion Maurice Greene in a report into doping. According to the New York Times, Greene was listed as one of a dozen athletes by witness Angel Guillermo Heredia. Four of the dozen athletes, including Marion Jones, have already been named and barred from competition for illicit drug use. Eight of the 12 — including, most notably, Greene — have never been previously linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Heredia, who is serving as the main witness in the case against Trevor Graham — coach of Jones, Greene and others — will testify that Graham supplied illicit drugs and advice to elite athletes. Heredia has said he supplied illicit drugs and advice on their use to Graham and his athletes. Heredia showed the paper a copy of a bank transaction form showing a US$10,000 wire transfer from Maurice Greene to a relative of the witness. Heredia also showed the paper two sets of blood-test lab reports with Greene’s name and age on them and an e-mail message from a close friend and track-club teammate of the runner, attaching one of the lab reports and saying, “Angel, [these are] Maurice’s results, sorry it took so long.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
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